Wind of Destiny: Converging
Red Thread – Chapter Five
Misaki awoke to the rich smell of dashi and soy sauce. She breathed in deep, savoring the familiar scent before slowly opening her eyes to an unfamiliar room. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she raised her hands over her head in a long stretch, opening her mouth in a wide yawn before dropping her arms and twisting her head to crack her neck. She winced at the piercing pain that shot through her neck and shoulder at the action.
Apparently, she'd slept in an awkward position and had pulled a muscle somewhere. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and reached out for the pale-yellow yukata laying on the edge of the large futon. Slipping it over her shoulders, she stood and made her way over to the doors leading into the sitting room, tying her obi as she walked before reaching out to slide the door open.
The rich smell that had awoken her hit her full force as soon as the door slid open and her stomach immediately let her know that it was more than a little bit empty. She grimaced, half at how loudly it had growled and half at the feeling of it contracting in her gut. Lifting her hand to rest over her midsection, she shuffled her way into the sitting room, following the delicious smell into the small dining alcove where Hawks was seated, holding cup of what was probably coffee in one hand and scrolling through his phone with the other. He looked up as she walked in and sat down in the seat across from him.
"Morning, sleepy head," he greeted her with a wry grin.
"What time is it?" She asked, reaching out for the steaming cup of café au lait sitting next to a large, covered serving dish on the table in front of her.
"Almost noon," he told her over the edge of his own coffee cup before taking a drink.
She felt her eyes widen in response to her shock at his reply and she incredulously asked, "Noon? When do we need to check out?"
"The room is comped for the weekend, don't worry. We're good," he assured her.
She let out a deep sigh of relief. She didn't want her inability to wake up before noon to be the reason they had to pay for another night at this hotel. Not that either one of them couldn't afford it, but she wasn't big on creating unnecessary expenses.
"Hungry?" He asked as he reached out and lifted the lid off of the serving dish.
The steam that rose up in front of her face carried with it the mouthwatering scent she'd woken up to. It washed over her in full force, prompting her stomach to loudly remind her yet again just how hungry she was. Laid out before her was a traditional Japanese breakfast spread, consisting of rice, miso soup, tamagoyaki, grilled salmon, and pickled vegetables. She immediately felt her mouth begin to water at the sight and smell of it all.
Hawks laughed before enthusiastically telling her, "Dig in!"
"Did you already eat?" She asked as she carefully lifted the warm bowl of miso soup up to her lips to take a sip.
"Yeah, a few hours ago," he confirmed.
She cast a sheepish glance down at the table as she grumbled, "You could have woken me up."
He shot her a discerning glance and said, "Considering how active we were last night, I figured you could use the rest."
She lifted her eyes to his, catching the suggestive gleam in his gaze and feeling her cheeks suddenly heat with a faint blush. It hadn't taken her long to drift off to sleep after him once they'd finished their first two rounds of the evening. They'd woken up twice throughout the night, each time resulting in a couple more rounds before they'd both passed back out again. She wanted to argue that he'd been just as active as she was, but she knew that wasn't really the point. He was much more efficient than her when it came to sleep. He got about the same amount of rest from four hours that she got from eight.
Setting the bowl back down, Misaki lifted her hand to rub at the junction where her neck met her right shoulder and winced as she replied, "Thanks, but I think I might have slept too well."
"Is your neck sore?" He asked, his brow drawing down in concern.
"Yeah, a little," she replied uncomfortably.
Hawks rose from his seat and walked around the table to stand behind her, quickly rubbing his hands together before carefully slipping them under the collar of her yukata. His left hand gently cradled the base of her skull, his fingers holding her chin at an upward angle as he pressed his right palm against the back of her neck and slowly slid it down along her shoulder.
"How does that feel?" He asked, repeating the motion, and adding a bit more pressure on the second pass.
"It hurts so good," Misaki groaned as she relaxed into his touch.
"Looks like you strained your trapezius muscle. It's pretty common, actually. They should be able to treat it at the spa. Why don't you head down there after you eat? I'll call and make you an appointment," he offered, releasing his hold on her neck and shoulder before walking over to retrieve his phone from the other side of the table.
"I'm pretty sure that's not gonna be comped," she said as she reached up to straighten the collar of her yukata.
"Call it a gift," Hawk replied with a shrug, keeping his eyes trained down at his phone.
Misaki blinked in confusion and asked, "A gift? For what?"
He lifted his gaze to hers and playfully asked, "Do I need a reason to spoil my girlfriend?"
"Some girlfriend…" She trailed off grudgingly, reaching out to pick up the bowl of miso soup again. "I wasn't even able to give you the chocolates I bought you for Valentine's Day."
His gaze softened and he shot her a crooked grin as he told her, "You were a much sweeter gift than any chocolates. I've got my work cut out for me for White Day. I might as well get started early."
"Sweet talker," she playfully chided him as she lifted the bowl to her mouth to take a sip.
"Finish your breakfast before your stomach gives us another noise complaint," he said with a playful chuckle as he lifted the phone up to his ear and began walking into the sitting room.
It took a moment for his words to sink in, but when they finally did, she immediately turned her head toward him, wincing sharply when her strained trapezius muscle protested the action. Setting the bowl of soup down, she shifted in her chair to turn toward him fully as she raised her hand to rub the side of her neck and asked, "What do you mean "another" noise complaint?"
"Yeah, I'll hold," he said into the phone before turning his attention over to her and asking, "What?"
"You said "another noise complaint" just now," Misaki reiterated, glaring back at him skeptically.
He cocked his head to the side, an exaggerated look of confusion overtaking his expression as he asked in an incredulous tone, "Did I?"
She narrowed her eyes as she flatly stated, "Yes, you did."
"I think your hunger's makin' you delirious, Misa-chan," he replied dismissively as he turned away from her.
"Keigo."
She saw his shoulders flinch at her cutting tone before they suddenly dropped. He let out a sigh before turning back around to face her. Pulling the phone way from his ear, he held the speaker over his shoulder and reluctantly told her, "I may have gotten a polite warning for us to be a little more discreet after a few of the other guests reported overhearing us last night."
"Oh my god," Misaki groaned as she dropped her head into her hands.
Talk about embarrassing. Both of their apartments had pretty decent soundproofing, so she'd never really needed to worry about holding her voice down when they were intimate. She hadn't even considered that anyone else would be able to hear her last night. Thinking back on it, she had probably been a bit more vocal than usual, given the circumstances. God, she just wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole right that very second.
"Don't worry, I sorted it all out," Hawks assured her, waving his hand in the air dismissively.
She lifted her head from her hands and looked up at him suspiciously. "What does that mean?"
He shot her an exasperated look as he lifted the phone back up to his ear and said, "It means don't worry about it. Finish your breakfast."
Not about to let him downplay the issue, Misaki started to say, "Keigo—!"
He cut her off when he turned away from her and began speaking into his phone. "Yeah, I'd like to make an appointment for a massage."
She let him walk away from her and grudgingly turned back around in her seat to finish eating her breakfast. There was no doubt in her mind that his idea of "sorting it out" involved something completely outlandish. When it came to solving other people's problems, Hawks was a consummate professional. But she had discovered quite recently that he had a somewhat skewed perception of how to handle his own. Needless to say, he had a tendency to go a bit above and beyond what was appropriate when compensating others for their trouble. Whatever he'd done, one way or another, she was going to get him to confess to it before they left this hotel. Mostly so she knew just how much she owed him for her part in the whole ordeal.
"What's all this?" Misaki asked, gazing curiously at the tray of fancy looking oils and creams sitting on the edge of the futon.
"The spa was booked up for the rest of the day, so I had them send the supplies up here instead," Hawks explained, turning his head to look at her as she walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom.
She had just finished eating her breakfast, which at this point probably counted more as a late brunch, a few minutes ago. Room service had arrived to collect the dishes while she'd been in the bathroom and they'd delivered the spa package he'd ordered while they were at it. It hadn't been difficult to convince them to accommodate him, since he'd offered to pay for the full service even though all he really needed were the materials.
"And the masseuse?" She innocently asked.
He held his arms out to the side and grinned at her as he said, "You're lookin' at him!"
She blinked a couple of times before letting out a small sigh. Stepping up to the tray, she reached out to pick up one of the small packets of crystals before raising her eyes and staring up at him wryly. "Hero, pilot, masseuse… Is there anything you can't do?"
"There are a lot of things I can't do!" He emphatically exclaimed before lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "This just happens to be one thing I'm actually pretty good at. Are you complaining?"
She tossed the packet back down on the tray and shook her head, smiling up at him as she said, "Not at all."
"Go lay down and get comfort—" He cut off as her yukata suddenly slid off her shoulders. "able…" He trailed off as he traced his eyes down her stunning, nude curves.
"What?" She asked, gazing at him coyly. "You said get comfortable."
He huffed out a short laugh and raised his eyes back up to hers, tilting his head a bit as he told her, "It's not that kind of massage, Misa-chan."
"Hm, if you say so." She smirked back at him before turning around and walking gracefully over to the right side of the futon to lay face down on top of the covers.
Hawks took a second to compose himself before following after her, sending a couple of feathers into the bathroom for a towel which he draped over her backside. One thing was for sure, he never got bored with the woman. Just when he thought he had her all figured out, she'd do something so completely out of character, he'd find himself calling into question whether he even knew her at all. He chalked it up to her slowly coming out of her shell little by little. After spending the last eleven years living the life she believed her loved ones had wanted for her, it was possible that she was still trying to figure out who she really was.
And honestly, he could relate to that a little bit.
Dragging the tray over to where he could easily reach it, he selected one of the bottles of essential oil and began dropping a trail down the middle of her back. She jumped slightly at the unexpected sensation of the oil hitting her skin and he reached out to run his right hand up her spine from the small of her back as he told her, "Just relax."
She inhaled deeply through her nose before slowly letting the breath out from her mouth, closing her eyes and relaxing under his touch. He dropped a little more oil onto her skin before setting the bottle aside and running both hands up the length of her back. She moaned deeply when he began kneading her shoulders and he stopped to work the muscles in deep, circular motions before moving his hands to her arms and pulling them down to rest at her sides. He began working at a few of the pressure points in her hands and arms before slowly working his way back up to her neck and shoulders.
He reached over for the peppermint oil and dropped a generous amount onto her upper back before setting it aside. Grabbing one of the pillows from the other side of the bed, he gently lifted her by the shoulders and slipped it under her chest as he told her, "Try to keep your neck straight for now and let me know if you get uncomfortable."
She made an affirmative sound in her throat, remaining pretty well relaxed throughout the whole position change. He steadily went to work on her trapezius muscles, paying close attention to the strained one on the right side. He slowly and carefully worked the pressure points in her neck and shoulders to try and alleviate some of the strain. One session probably wouldn't clear it completely, but it would at least make her more comfortable. Once he'd done about as much as he could with her neck and shoulders, he carefully removed the pillow and turned her head to lay on her unstrained side before moving his attention down her back.
He worked on her sore muscles for a good hour and a half before easing off a bit and asking her, "Feel better?"
"Mhm," Misaki hummed lazily in reply, a deeply contented smile spreading across her lips as she stretched her arms up under the pillow her head was resting on. Turning onto her side, she gazed up at him with hooded eyes and languidly told him, "Thank you."
He leaned over, grinning as he placed a chaste kiss on her lips and replied, "You're welcome."
"What now?" She asked as she turned back over onto her stomach.
"Now," he said before swiftly and gracefully rolling her up into his arms, eliciting a short, surprised exclamation from Misaki. "We go take a bath."
She wrapped her arms around his neck, gazing up at him playfully as she asked, "We, huh? I thought this wasn't that kind of massage?"
He smirked down at her as he cheekily replied, "What can I say? You're just so damn irresistible, I can't help myself."
"And the noise complaints?" She asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at him and narrowing her eyes in a slightly spiteful glare.
He should have known she hadn't dropped that yet.
"I told you not to worry about that, didn't I?" He responded exasperatedly, returning her glare as he carried her into the bathroom and set her down on the counter between the double sinks.
"Yes, but you still haven't told me why?" She conceded, keeping her arms loosely wrapped around his shoulders as he stepped in between her legs and sent a few feathers over to turn on the bath water.
"Let's just say we won't have to worry about any other guests overhearing us again," he replied evasively.
He knew she would probably take issue with the fact that he'd offered to cover the expenses of upgrading the rooms for every guest currently staying in any rooms that were connected to theirs, along with renting all of those rooms for the night as well. The hotel had agreed to rent him the rooms but had elected to cover the upgrades as a courtesy instead of asking him to pay the difference. He didn't really mind either way, as long as it ensured that they remained uninterrupted for the rest of their stay.
Per the deal he'd made with the President after she'd ordered him to participate in the auction, he was supposedly off the grid for the next fifteen hours. Edgeshot had been tasked with covering his absence. Considering that the single hero had somehow managed to evade getting involved with the auction, he deserved to pick up some of the slack.
"What does that mean?" She asked, clearly exasperated with his constant dodging of the issue.
"Are you ever gonna stop worrying about this?" He countered, cocking his head to the side and glaring back at her in equal exasperation of her refusal to let it go.
A thoughtful expression crossed her face for a moment before she hummed, "Mm, doubtful."
Hawks heaved a heavy sigh, dropping his head and giving it a slight shake before bracing his hands on the counter next to her hips and lifting his eyes to pin her with a lustful glare. "I guess I'm just gonna have to distract you into forgetting about it then."
A slow smirk spread across her lips and her eyelids drooped provocatively in response as she told him, "I'd like to see you try."
Matching her smirk with one of his own, he leaned in to kiss her as he said, "Challenge accepted."
Thank you for reading :)
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